“White Zinfandel, introduced about 1975, seems to have some irresistible advantages going for it from the standpoint of the producer. It is made from grapes not yet fully ripe, so that one need not be anxious about proper maturity and thus can use fruit from the Central Valley, which is abundant and inexpensive.

It is regularly doctored with inexpensive concentrate to sweeten it, and a little gas may be added as well. It requires no aging, so that it may be moved to the market almost at once.

Finally, Americans love it. White Zinfandel has effectively killed the domestic production of other rose wines; it shows few signs of losing popularity, and it may prove to be that long-sought-after commercial ideal, the wine equivalent of the American soft drink. The fact that only Americans drink it seems to confirm that idea.”

from: A History of Wine in America, Thomas Pinney, 2005

Because it was the only thing we had. We were washing our
own bottles, remember? It was in hock green bottles,
actually, because that’s what we had the most of. It
didn’t go into the claret style bottle until ’75. Then,
once it became popular, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I mean, My God, I don’t want to change that package.

Thanks for stopping by. Funny that “white zinfandel” in the 19th century may have been chenin blanc.

Also interesting about the equine angle on zinfandel. Do you know the exact citation in the Iliad? I searched a text version here and didn’t find anything:

http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.mb.txt

Thanks to everyone else for the interesting memories in the early days of white zin!